Not This Time
by LemonNinjaa
Summary: You can only prolong your life for so long; death always wins in the end. Will this be the day Ciel Phantomhive finally dies? Oneshot.


He was going to die.

Only some commoners knew how to swim, and no one else. It was considered inelegant and undignified, unworthy of nobility. It also wasn't unusual to come across commoners who believed it to be below even their status. Therefore, drowning was something quite common in Ciel's time.

He never thought it would happen to him.

Ciel opened his mouth to scream Sebastian's name, forgetting he was underwater in the face of his unadulterated fear. Instead of inhaling air to shout, he choked on a mouthful of water, the liquid filling his nose and blinding him.

Logical as he was, Ciel knew he could simply kick his legs to take him to the surface, but the only problem was that his arms and legs were bound with rough rope. It chafed his wrists and held his ankles tightly together, allowing for no sort of momentum to be built up.

He closed his left eye (the right one being covered by the eye patch), in part to the stop the burning, but also to try and quell the fear rising ever higher within him.

_Sebastian…Please find me soon._

Since the Phantomhives were not particularly likable for their line of work, many convicted criminals and their families went after them. After all, the Phantomhives _were_ the reason for their incarceration.

Ciel had been working in his study as he did daily, when he felt a blow on the back of his neck. By the time he had registered what had happened, he was powerless to stop his descent into numb oblivion.

He had jolted awake when he felt water all around him. Ciel didn't know what time it was, but it must have been at least a good hour or so. In any case, Sebastian would have come into his study with tea and a dessert, and found him missing. Ciel hoped his faithful butler was on his way at this moment, because humans could only last so long in the water without breathing…

It had been a good 2 minutes already, and Ciel was very close to unconsciousness. He dimly noticed little wisps of blood floating in the water, and, looking down, found that it was his blood, stemming from shallow slices on his legs and arms, and a larger one across his chest. Ciel had only just noticed the pain in his chest, and recognized the familiar ache of bruises. It seemed his captor harboured a strong dislike for him, to go through all the trouble of trying to wake him up without killing him outright.

_I suppose they wanted to see me awake to beg to them, but a Phantomhive is far beyond such pathetic grovelling,_ Ciel thought, family pride present till the end.

His vision was beginning to get darker. His eye patch had eventually become untied by the motion of the water undulating all around him, his violet contract eye glowing in the water. The ropes held fast, being tied in crude but tight knots.

_I refuse to die here!_ Ciel thought determinedly to himself, although he knew the futility in that statement. There was no way he could escape without the assistance of someone else.

He would have sighed had he not been underwater, for he had quickly learned his lesson of trying to inhale while submersed.

_Sebastian, this is an order: rescue me as soon as possible…_

Ciel went unconscious.

He floated there, almost as if in suspended animation, his bluish-grey locks floating gracefully around his face. The sight was picturesque; with Ciel's expression misleadingly peaceful, it seemed almost as if he was the subject of an artistic photograph instead.

The water surged downwards with an explosion of bubbles and froth, signalling the entrance of someone jumping in with previous momentum, most likely from running. However, the force with which the person entered was much too strong for a human to have been simply running.

Of course, it was not a human.

It was Sebastian, the demonic butler of the Phantomhive family. His claret-red eyes darted about, seeking his young master. Humans could only last so long without breathing, after all.

His sharp eyes quickly focused on the prone figure of a child, who appeared to be bound at the arms and ankles.

_Bocchan,_ Sebastian grimly recognized the unusual tone of the hair to be that of his master's.

Swimming much faster than a human could, he glided through the water to where the boy was. Quickly taking stock of his wounds, he determined them to be non-fatal, and gathered him into his arms. Sebastian shot up towards the surface, ensuring they were under a bridge, so no passers-by would see the Earl in such a state. After all, if someone was willing to do this to the boy, it was certain that many others would enjoy seeing him like this.

Swimming over to the little stone island under the bridge, he took off his coat, placed it on the ground, and laid Ciel on top. He ripped off his bindings with the greatest of ease; a Phantomhive butler wasn't worth his salt if he couldn't do this much.

He put his ear to the boy's delicate mouth and listened for the sound of breath. Sebastian was relieved when Ciel coughed and spat a little water.

Mismatched eyes blinked open, and a small chest heaved for more air.

"Sebastian…" Ciel weakly said.

"Bocchan," Sebastian replied quietly, red eyes glinting as he stared down at his master.

"…Take me home," Ciel ordered, not having the energy nor breath to rebuke Sebastian for not coming faster. The boy knew his butler had come as quickly as possible, anyway; the only reason he still yelled at the demon for taking too long was because it provided a sense of normalcy and helped Ciel feel better about such incidents, however self-absorbed that may sound. Sebastian knew Ciel hated to feel weak and helpless.

"Yes, My Lord," Sebastian acquiesced.

He wrapped his coat around the boy for what little warmth it could provide, and picked him up bridal-style. In a few minutes, they had arrived back at the Phantomhive manor, thanks to Sebastian's inhuman speed.

Entering Ciel's bedroom, Sebastian laid him on the bed and stripped him of his ripped, wet clothes. Re-assessing the boy's injuries, Sebastian disinfected the laceration across his chest as well as the minor cuts on his legs and arms. Bandaging them, he glanced at Ciel's face to see if he felt any pain. Instead, he saw Ciel dozing. The boy's eyelashes were long enough to brush against his cheeks, making him look like an innocent, resting angel.

Sebastian smiled to himself upon seeing his master's level of comfort; normally Ciel would act like the ordeal did not bother him, thus making it glaringly obvious it did, but the Earl seemed completely at ease with the fact that he was just rescued from near death by drowning.

_Bocchan, you were always an unusual one,_ Sebastian thought fondly.

He stood back to observe the boy a little longer, to ensure he had no further problems. Sebastian was satisfied when his young master turned on his side without any indication of pain.

The demonic butler strode soundlessly to the door, and turned around to take a last glance at the sleeping boy.

He smiled, and then left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Ciel's eyes opened and he smiled. _Thank you, Sebastian. Thank you for being there when no one else is. Thank you for caring about me. _

Sebastian looked up from his tasks as if he had heard a voice. He smiled softly once more.

Ciel closed his eyes again and fell into a blissful sleep.

It seemed today was not the day Ciel Phantomhive would die. Once again, death was cheated of its prize.

But that was fine with both the demonic butler and the young master.

_A butler of Phantomhive wouldn't be worth his salt if he couldn't do that much. Think nothing of it, Bocchan. _

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Oh hey guys. LOL.

Second Kuroshitsuji fic, I have this thing with Sebastian having to rescue Ciel. :)

La la la it might be a little shitty cuz I **had** to finish it today, I couldn't stand leaving it unfinished for more than two days. 48 hours was long enough, it drove me crazy. LOL.

I hate leaving oneshots unfinished past a day. LOL.

So yeah. I'm pretty tired cuz I have to wake up at 7:05am tomorrow and it's 12:11am, so I apologize if there are any errors, do tell me and I'll fix them. :)

Toodles!


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